Singapore PM's website defaced by hackers

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Hackers claiming links to international hacking group Anonymous defaced Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's official website late on Thursday, one day after he said authorities would spare no effort to track them down.

Local media and bloggers said the hackers had posted an image of a Guy Fawkes mask on the Singapore prime minister's office (PMO) website with the words "It's great to be Singaporean today".

The image had been placed above a story that quoted Lee saying authorities "will spare no effort" to bring the hackers to justice.

"The PMO main website is still working, and we are working to restore the page that has been compromised," a spokeswoman for the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore said when contacted.

Besides the prime minister's office website, reports on social media said the website of the Istana -- the official home of Singapore's president -- was also attacked by hackers although this could not be independently verified.

Several websites in Singapore have been hacked over the past week, including those belonging to the town council of Prime Minister Lee's constituency and the Straits Times newspaper.

Hackers linked to Anonymous have defaced dozens of websites belonging to Australian businesses and Philippine government agencies during the past week.

Guy Fawkes was the best-known conspirator in a 17th-century plot to blow up England's parliament and his image is widely used as a calling card by members and supporters of Anonymous.